Job satisfaction, job stress and nurses' turnover intentions: The moderating roles of on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness.

AIM

Using an interactionist perspective to test on-the-job embeddedness and off-the-job embeddedness as possible moderators for the predictive effects of job satisfaction and job stress on nurses' turnover intentions.

BACKGROUND

As turnover worsens nurse shortages across the globe, researchers needs to find ways to work out and reduce nurses' turnover intentions. By exploring contributory factors, namely on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness as two distinctive forms that both act as moderators, we add to the literature on effective nurse retention and highlight that incorporating off-the-job factors can provide a more realistic understanding of why people consider leaving their organization.

DESIGN

Survey of 361 nurses of the United Kingdom's (UK's) National Health Service, in 2016.

METHOD

We conducted hierarchical multiple regression and simple slope analyses.

RESULTS

Job satisfaction was negatively associated with turnover intentions, and this negative relationship was stronger when off-the-job embeddedness was high (vs. low). Job stress was positively related to turnover intentions, yet high (vs. low) off-the-job embeddedness buffered this relationship. In contrast, when on-the-job embeddedness was high (vs. low), the relationship between job stress and turnover intentions were even stronger.

CONCLUSION

Results showed that using an interactionist perspective is useful in predicting nurse turnover. Nursing management should be made aware of the importance of being embedded off-the-job to prevent nurse turnover. This paper issues guidelines to form a more comprehensive staff retention programme for the healthcare sector.